UNICEF, Enugu gov’t collaborate against malnutrition

Determined to stem further rising cases of acute malnutrition among children, Enugu State Government in partnership with United Nations Children Education Fund (UNICEF) has established three Centres for Management of Acute Malnutrition (CMAM) in the state.
The state nutrition officer, Dr. Henrietta Ugwu, made this known while speaking at a one-day media engagement workshop organized by Civil Society Scaling-up Nutrition (CS-SUNN) in Enugu.

Ugwu, who noted that acute malnutrition was a major challenge in the state, said through UNICEF and the Federal Ministry of Health, the state was able to set up the CMAM centres which are located in Obollo-Afor, Abakpa Nike and Oji River.
She said that though the CMAM centres have been of immense help in addressing the situation, more centres are urgently needed in all the local government areas of the state, noting that it was the only way the state can overcome the challenge of acute malnutrition among children in the state.
“You see, we need to scale-up these CMAM centres to the rest of the local government areas because malnutrition is not just in those three local government areas where they are currently situated.

“From the reports and the referees that we have been getting from other local government areas, you see that we have them so high in the rest of the local government areas and these ones are indigent families. When you refer them to another local government area, the issue is who transports them”, she stated.
On his part, Enugu State Co-ordinator of CS-SUNN, Dr. Chuka Agunwa, revealed that the state government has accepted to work with a five-year nutrition budget line which will go a long way in addressing the issue of malnutrition in the state..